Spring plantings

Mid-February marks the beginning of prime spring planting time in the Phoenix area. High temperatures have been in the eighties the last few days, which is a bit warm for our normal February weather, but we're not likely to see freezing temperatures again this year. We planted yellow, zucchini, and acorn squash, cantaloupe and honeydew melons, and Armenian cucumbers in this bed. In another bed, which most recently hosted broccoli, we set out three more tomato transplants- Early Girl, Yellow Pear, and Purple Cherokee. I also found a spot for a new basil plant in a third bed.

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We added two stepping stone pathways in this bed because it's too large to access plants for weeding and harvesting without stepping on (and compacting) the soil. Below you can see how we adjusted the drip tubing layout for mound rather than in-line planting- just coil the tubing around the mounds. We use the same setup around the tomato cages. I only got as far as planting the back part of the bed today; I plan to plant bush beans in the front part, and when I do I'll use straight rather than coiled sections of drip tube and plant two bean seeds under each emitter.

Also seen in this picture is some mondo grass (called monkeygrass in the South) I transplanted from the side of the house because it will no longer get water when we remove the last of our backyard lawn. I think it will make a nice edge plant for the streambed.